Man faces possible 3 strikes' sentence

WEST CHESTER – Although the accusations against him were comparatively minor, the penal consequences for Michael G. Ferko’s conviction on aggravated assault charges are potentially life changing.

Ferko, 52, of Phoenixville, faces the possibility of being sentenced to life in prison as part of the state’s “three-strikes” sentencing law for violent felonies, essentially for punching his then-girlfriend during an alcohol-fueled argument at the borough apartment they shared in January.

A jury of 11 women and one man had found Ferko guilty Wednesday of aggravated assault, simple assault, and terroristic threats after a three-day trial.

The prosecutor in the case, Deputy District Attorney Thomas Ost-Prisco, told Common Pleas Senior Judge Ronald Nagle that Ferko had two prior convictions for assaulting women.

Advertisement

He said his office planned to ask Nagle to impose the minimum mandatory sentence of 25-to-50 years in state prison for Ferko. It will be up to Nagle whether to hand down the life term that is included in cases like Ferko’s.

Ferko’s fate will become clearer Tuesday when Nagle rules on the motion for acquittal made by his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Susanna DeWese. She had argued briefly following the jury’s verdict that their decision to acquit Ferko on the charge of causing serious bodily injury while finding him guilty of attempting to cause serious bodily injury was inconsistent, and asked Nagle to vacate the verdict.

If Nagle sides with DeWese, the “three-strikes” cloud would be lifted from Ferko’s head.

According to testimony during the trial, the victim, Jennifer McCray Selfinger, told police that she and Ferko had gotten into an argument in the early morning hours of Jan. 21. He grabbed her at some point and punched her several times in the face and chest, and told he was going to kill her.

In her testimony, Selfinger told the jury that Ferko became angry because she wanted to continue to party and drink alcohol and he wanted to go to bed. The assault occurred sometimes around 5 a.m.

A doctor from Phoenixville Hospital testified Selfinger had suffered a fractured rib, a punctured eardrum, and a broken tooth. But Ost-Prisco was able to convince the jury they could infer from the punches he threw that his intent was to cause more injury than the victim had actually suffered.

Defendants who have two previous convictions for what is labeled a “violent felony” under the sentencing statute and who are convicted of a third are subject to the “three-strikes, you’re out” provision. Violent felonies include armed robbery, rape, arson, and aggravated assault.

DeWese conceded Ferko had committed a simple assault on Selfinger, but said his actions did not rise to the level of aggravated assault.

Ferko’s past convictions include a 1983 sentence for attempted rape, aggravated assault, simple assault, indecent assault and related charges, for which he was sentenced to 22 months to 54 months in state prison. According to court documents, Ferko grabbed a woman who worked as a bartender at the Hungarian American Club in Phoenixville around midnight on Jan. 24, 1981, and tried to rape her.

In March 1996, Ferko was arrested and charged with beating up his then-girlfriend, telling her, “You’re going to visit he morgue today.” She suffered a black eye and broken ribs, and he was sentenced as part of a plea agreement to 15 to 36 months in state prison.

Ferko, currently being held in Chester County Prison, is also awaiting trial on charges that he and two other men stole copper wire from Verizon poles in Phoenixville.